January Visual Artists

Caitlin Velázquez-Fagley was raised in Placitas, New Mexico but grew up traveling all of her life. She was always fascinated by jewelry and adornment as she’d see numerous examples in the museums of her travels. When she was 15 years old, she took her first beading class in Albuquerque. Fast forward 13 years and her passion turned into a career. She began silversmithing in 2015 and that has taken her on a new path with jewelry design where she works to combine her metalsmithing skills with her intricate beadwork. All work is designed and created by Velázquez-Fagley; and her pieces are only fabricated once. Caitlin says: “I romanticize what I make by experimenting with craft. I think that craftsmanship is overlooked and under-appreciated these days; so my answer to this problem is to create the most visually complex designs I can. Craft takes time and both are essential to my work. I’m able to execute a design using a wide variety of techniques resulting in endless possibilities. I aim to make timeless pieces with metal techniques and bead stitches that have existed for millennia.”

Marcia Rackstraw (BFA, MA) has maintained an art studio in Placitas since 1985 working in charcoal, pastel, and oil paint as well as printmaking with woodcuts and linocuts. Her landscape works are inspired by intimate spaces, a close-up view of plants, water, the patterns of shadows, and light reflections. Since 2015 that interest in patterns has lead to a study of zebras, the intricate stripes of each animal — their fingerprint” — and how that translates into an abstract image, one that still depicts the spirit of the magnificent animal. Rackstraw is a regular participant in the annual Placitas Studio Tour. Her work can be viewed at the website or her studio by appointment. Marcia says: “The zebra as subject matter is perfectly suited to my interest in abstract design. The animal provides a constant form to be interpreted in different lights, from different angles, and in close-up detail. Over the last year and a half I have created a new body of work that explores the design qualities of these beautiful animals as well as depicting their powerful presence.”

Victoria Mlady lives in the North Valley of Albuquerque. She works as a fine art photographer and as a textile and surface pattern designer. Her photographic artwork is boldly colored, wildly abstract in nature, and modern in design. Her work has appeared in numerous art shows and studio tours. She has shown in several galleries with her most recent home being Ghostwolf Gallery in Old Town. She is preparing to exhibit at Surtex in New York in 2018. Her teenage son, husband, and a farm full of charming animals keep her quite content and busy. She’s an active volunteer, enjoys animal rescue work, composting, reading and learning about a multitude of subjects. Victoria says: ”I deliberately push the subjects of my photography into brightly colored or abstracted realms to go above and beyond what is as a statement of how I wish the world could be. I am attracted to color, pattern, strong lines and geometric configurations. Nature provides the perfect playground for my eye, hence it’s where most of my images begin. I firmly believe the environments we create for ourselves mold us and shape us powerfully; therefore, it is in our best interests to be cognizant about what we place around us. Because color directly contributes to emotional well-being, I play with it in a no-holds-barred fashion in my art, hoping it will impact other people positively when it is hung in their living and working spaces.”

Jim Fish grew up on a ranch in Southwest Texas. He moved to the historic village of Placitas in 1981.  He was the founder and winemaker at Anasazi Fields Winery. Fish had a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University and worked at Sandia National Laboratories for 19 years with time spent in solar energy research, nuclear reactor safety, and environmental operations. In addition to being a sculptor all his life, Fish was a poet, a nature writer, and a photographer. He died in June, 2017 after acceptance by a jury for this exhibit. Fish says, “Every piece of wood has in it a work of art. I peel back the outside layers to reveal the underlying complexity, fluidity, and beauty. Nature is the artist. I am only her agent.”